Best Wooden Food Toys: ENDLESS pretend play with these 11 sets
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A play kitchen or other fantasy play around food is great fun for your toddler and preschooler, but that also includes enough food.
Take for example this best fruit and vegetable set from Janod. Firm wood and you can cut it well through the Velcro. With a colander, it's just like the real thing!
In this article, I take a look at the 11 best wooden food toys and what you should pay attention to when purchasing.
Let's first look at all options in a short overview. Then I'll go into more detail about each of these choices.
Overall best wooden food toy
No play kitchen is complete without cut fruit. Some sets are held together with magnets, but I prefer this Velcro version.
Best wooden kitchen appliance
Cause and effect because you press the toaster for a delicious toasted sandwich, but it is also very good for fine motor skills.
Best cheap wooden toy food
With 21 pieces and 4 crates you can't go wrong for this price. Melissa & Doug always knows how to keep their sustainable wooden toys affordable.
Best healthy wooden toy food
Here everything is already pre-cut. Very nice to experience a salad and extra nice is the healthy aspect.
Best wooden sauces and drinks
This is the most durable wooden food I've come across. Made of rubber wood and water-based paint and organic pigments.
Best wooden meats
What a detail on the meat, it is really very nicely finished with the drawing on the red meat or the sausages that hang together.
Best wooden toy snack
A very nice retro toy. Who wouldn't want to play that they're going to the cinema to eat some good popcorn!
Best wooden toy candy
Super cute! And indestructible. New Classic Toys has a lot of sturdy wooden toys. Our play kitchen, for example, is from this brand.
Best wooden toy bins
Cute sandwiches in a sturdy and durable wicker basket. Very well made. The color of the wood is kept natural.
Best wooden toy cans and packs
Super fun refill for play kitchen or shop with realistic packaging of tea bags, beans, pasta, and more.
Best wooden toy store
Everything you need is included. From a cash register that opens and closes to chalkboard compartments where you put the food.
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Wooden food toy buying guide
When you choose food for wooden toys, you want it to last a long time.
It is also important that the wood is sustainable, such as the rubber wood from Plan Toys and Le Toy Van. Buying toys will have a minimal impact on the environment.
You can also choose toys where you can feel the wood best.
For example, Janod's play fruit is very finished and looks more like fruit and vegetables than wood. The Tender Leaf set has very natural wood.
It may seem a little less "real", but it also stimulates the senses more and fits better with the natural feeling for Montessori and Waldorf play.
But it also has to be fun to play with. That is paramount.
Every play kitchen should have a set of cut fruits. That's my experience. Cutting the fruit and vegetables makes the pretend play extra fun.
If you already have that, you can look at the additions such as meat products, or cans. Some extra accessories for the kitchen are also nice to give the game some extra dimension.
I rated every toy on the list for features, replayability, and durability from 1 to 5 points.
This way you can see how much it can do, whether it remains fun and whether it will last a long time.
Best Wooden Food Toys Reviewed
Janod Vegetables And Cut Fruit Maxi
- Complete set with lots of cut fruit
- Colander is a nice addition
- solid wood
- Wooden cutting set is a lot more expensive than plastic
No play kitchen is complete without some cut fruit. Some sets are held together with magnets, but I prefer this Velcro version.
It gives a little more resistance when cutting, so your child really has to learn how to hold the knife.
This set contains 13 parts, with 9 fruits and vegetables, a wooden cutting board and knife, a colander and a box.
With the colander they can have extra fantasy play so that it is just real. I used to let my son play with our colander but it didn't fit in the play kitchen so this is a better solution.
Hape Toaster
- Very sturdy wooden construction
- Cutting butter and a jar of honey are a nice addition
- Bread doesn't go all the way in
- Bit of a strange set in itself
Cause and effect because you press the toaster and a delicious toasted sandwich pops out.
But it is also very good for fine motor skills. There are 10 accessories included. Bread, but also butter for cutting.
Such toys are great fun for the play kitchen or eating other toys. I don't know how much fun it would be if this is the only food toy you have. Then it's a bit of a strange loose set.
Hape toys are always very sturdy and this is no exception.
It is suitable from 3 years, it says on the box, but there are actually no small parts, so a younger child can also play with it.
The buns don't go all the way into the toaster, so it's not 100% just right. That might be a bit of a shame.
But a very nice addition to your play kitchen.
Melissa & Doug Crates With Food Groups
With 21 pieces and 4 crates you can hardly go wrong for this price. Melissa & Doug always knows how to keep their sustainable wooden toys affordable.
A lot cheaper to eat per piece than Janod's set, but you can't cut these.
You can combine the pieces for tasty creations, such as a hamburger bun. There are also plenty of healthy things such as cheese, milk, fish and fruit.
The goal is to teach children about the 5 food groups because there is a bit of everything. It is strange that there are no vegetables. That's a missed opportunity for an otherwise educational set.
Hape Healthy Salad
- Healthy set and very educational
- Slices are easy to cut apart
- Pre-cut veggies aren't much fun for groceries
This set consists of 39 pieces, but that is biased because they are all thin slices for the salad.
Here everything is already pre-cut. Very nice to experience a salad and extra nice is the healthy aspect.
A lot better than the New Classic Toys Donuts if you ask me.
Because everything is already pre-cut, this set never participates in the fantasy shopping that often precedes cooking, and that is sometimes a pity.
Especially if this is one of the few sets you have of wooden food.
You can cut the loose pieces off each other. Also with Velcro as we like to see it.
Plan Toys Food And Beverage
- Cute designs and immediately clear what it is
- Very sturdy and durable rubber wood
- Bottles are quite heavy
This is the most durable wooden food I've come across. Made of rubber wood and water-based paint and organic pigments.
This is a nice addition to other wooden food because it comes with a bottle of orange juice, a water bottle, a carton of milk, ketchup, jam and a honey jar.
All jars and lids are fun to play with and at this age they probably also drink milk so that the package is close to the real world.
Nice to see how they scoop from the jar and give their food some extra flavor with the sauce. This is the kind of toy that brings a new dimension to fantasy cooking.
The bottles are all wood so be warned if you have a throwing child. These hit hard.
Le Toy Van Honeybee Market Meat Tray
- Great detail
- Nice crate with market meat and cheerful colors
- Fits very small
- Quite pricey
These are also made of very strong and durable rubber wood, just like the Plan Toys set. This is more about a realistic look than the cute packages of the Food And Beverage set.
What a detail on the meat, it is really very nicely finished with the drawing on the red meat or the sausages that hang together.
They are really very small, much smaller than you would think on the picture because you probably have such a piece of meat in your head.
The steak is about the size of Melissa & Doug's sandwich. So although the price of the set is still reasonable (Le Toy Van is a premium brand), you pay quite a bit per cm of meat :)
Le Toy Van Retro Popcorn Machine
A very nice retro toy. Who wouldn't want to play that they're going to the cinema to eat some good popcorn!
It's a cute set and really, really sturdy. The popcorn pieces are made of felt so that there are no small pieces that your child could swallow.
The popcorn in the machine is stuck. They are popcorn pieces and wooden balls that rattle in them for a funny sound.
This makes the toy very safe, but many customers said they found this misleading as you can't really tell from the pictures.
So it seems like you have more playing material than you actually get. And that for quite a good price.
The movie tickets and tickets to buy sweet or salty popcorn that are on the box (cut out) are also a nice addition for a lot of pretend play.
Opinions are pretty divided about this machine. I think he's great and it's fun to get involved in pretend play. Others don't care because there is nothing to cut or make.
It's an absolute hit or miss in your home.
New Classic Toys Donuts
- Very cute design
- Super sturdy wood that will last a long time
- It's just a set of donuts
They're donuts. Round wooden discs with decoration on it.
The functions are: baking donuts, and serving donuts.
But they are really cute! And indestructible. New Classic Toys has a lot of sturdy wooden toys. Our play kitchen, for example, is from this brand.
Very well made with very cheerful colors. This set will last a few lifetimes.
Tender Leaf Bread Basket
- Natural wood perfect for sensory play
- Cute buns and pretzel
- You can't cut the bread
Cute sandwiches and other baked goods in a sturdy and durable wicker basket. Very well made.
The color of the wood is kept very natural, which makes it perhaps the best wooden food. There is some paint on it for the bear claw of course and that was done very cheerfully.
This set is also made of durable rubber wood, just like the Le Toy Van and Plan Toys sets. Tender Leaf always knows how to keep it a little more affordable.
It's a pity you can't cut the bread like some other bread sets, but the 4-square bun can be pulled apart to share.
That is a nice addition that makes it a bit more interactive.
If you want to go for more natural wood, this is the set for you!
Lees meer: this is the best wooden toy for toddlers and preschoolers
bigjigs Wooden Grocery Kitchen Cabinet Set
- Cheerful colors and bright paint
- Sturdy wooden blocks as packs of food
- Cans have stickers
- Nothing to open to play with
Super fun filling for their play kitchen or shop with realistic packaging. It includes cookies, tea bags, beans, pasta, cereal, rice and more.
The packaging is very cute, you can immediately tell what kind of food it is. Even if they can't read it yet.
The colors are nice and bright and that makes it a very cute set.
You can play with it no more than fantasy play. There is nothing that can be opened like with the jars from Plan Toys.
But every play kitchen needs a set of stuffing material I think and you couldn't find a better one.
They are really solid blocks, not too heavy and the right size for most play kitchen cabinets.
The suits are all painted but the cans are not. The stickers could come off with a lot of playing, which is a downside.
kidkraft Market stall
- Sturdy wooden construction
- Cheerful awning and the chalkboard compartments are a nice addition
- Checkout is not very good
Does your child like to play shop? Then the Kidkraft market stall is a good solution. It is not a mega store so the space it takes up is limited.
Everything you need is included. From a cash register that opens and closes to chalkboard compartments where you put the food.
Quite a few of the toys can eat in whatever you might choose from this list and the market crates in particular work well with this stall.
It is sturdy and stands well on its feet. Only the checkout is not very good. The case is also sturdy, but the buttons feel very cheap and I don't think they will last very long.
Conclusion
There is a lot for sale in this area and so you see how popular fantasy play is around cooking and shopping.
Your child likes to imitate you, and with these sets you can do so in a sustainable way with good wooden toys.
Also read: these are the 20 best wooden toy brands of the moment
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.